At 5'2" and barely over a hundred pounds, this IndyCar hotshot is driving laps around guys twice her size. We grill the speed addict about fear, temper tantrums, and peeing behind the wheel

A Conversation with Race Car Driver Danica PatrickAt 5'2" and barely over a hundred pounds, this IndyCar hotshot is driving laps around guys twice her size. We grill the speed addict about fear, temper tantrums, and peeing behind the wheel

Scrolling through messages on her BlackBerry, the woman known for her steely stare flashes a smile. "Fame can be annoying," Patrick says. "But there are perks too." Her waxer has the day off tomorrow but has just e-mailed to say she'll make an exception for Patrick. "Her motto is 'A Bazillion Brazilians,'" says the 25-year-old with glee.

It's difficult jibing the relentlessly disciplined 2005 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year with the girly girl in sparkly flip-flops sitting in front of me at Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale, Arizona. The only thing that gives her away is her Popeye-like forearms, super-muscular from years of piloting a 1,525-pound race car around curves at 220 miles an hour. "Actually, my arms aren't very developed because it's not the season yet," she says. On Memorial Day weekend, Patrick will take her third turn at the Indianapolis 500 in a new car and with a new leader, Michael Andretti. As for her old Rahal Letterman (as in David Letterman) team -- the one that helped her become the first female driver in history to take the lead in the Indy 500 -- she doesn't bother to keep in touch. "It's like a breakup," she says. "And you're not going to be best friends with the person you broke up with."

Tough as she is, Danica Patrick has soft spots. And the biggest one of all is for her husband of almost 2 years, Paul Hospenthal, a physical therapist 17 years her senior. "People can say whatever they want about me, and I don't care," she says. "But Paul, he's someone who can hurt me." Only if he dares...

Are you scared of dying on the track? I'm more scared that I might not do well than I might die. If it does happen, hopefully it happens quickly. But I really don't think that's how I'm going. I'm more likely to die on the road.

Do you get speeding tickets? The last time I was pulled over was in 2005. I was going 55 in a 35 mile per hour zone -- which I don't understand because you can barely even idle at 35 miles per hour. Anyway, I was ordered to go to traffic school. It was an 8-hour class and really painful.

Speaking of pain, the Indy 500 is hours long and, unlike astronauts, you guys don't wear diapers. When do you pee? You can go right there in your suit. People do it all the time, but I never have. I tried last year during a yellow flag [when the race slows down due to an accident on the track], and I was like, "You can do it. Just do it." But I couldn't pee in my pants. It feels very unnatural.

Besides a concussion after a 2005 crash, is it true your biggest injury was from yoga? Yes, I practice yoga at home to a TV show called Inhale, taught by Steve Ross. I figured that if the people on the show could stretch that deep then I could too. I ended up pulling my hip flexor. But that's how I met my husband. Paul was the physical therapist my coach called to meet with me after hours. I was the one who asked him out, cocky little thing, me.